London's Burning
by The-Unicorn-Pug-Of-Hogwarts
Summary: When Harry has saved Draco from Azkaban and they both hoped that will be the end of their troubles but life is never that simple and with lives and reputations at stake they must find away to clear Malfoy's name for a 2nd time and stop the growing evil of the werewolf cult Lunam from taking over. (Harry/Draco) (Ron/Hermione) (OC/OC)
1. The Great Trial

**_Malfoy manor_**

Malfoy exhaled heavily running his hands across his father mahogany desk he remembered his childhood years sneaking into his fathers study to stare at the grand desk fantasizing over what it would be like to sit behind such a awe inspiring masterpiece of wood work. He would stare majestically at all those ministry officials as they came seeking advice, they would cower for him like they did for his father, he to would demand fear and subsequently respect. Draco had learnt from a young age that fear meant respect like no other kind but it had been too late before he realised that it was not the type of respect he desired. Now the great desk was as pockmarked and lacerated as the Malfoy reputation and commanded as much respect in its very being as a cracked tea set. The time of the Malfoys had long passed and now other pure blooded families were thrown into tumultuous rivalries hoping to replace them, Draco was in no place to compete himself- not that he wished to, he was unhappy but safe and to him that was all that mattered currently.

Malfoy struggled in and out of everyday, unable to forget often finding his mind straying back… the trial, the fear, the hate and ultimately back to Potter and Alexander Tomkins. Both of whom he was highly indebted to which was a fact that constantly bothered him though the former more than the latter. He hated debt, whether in was in relation to money or pride though he'd never worried about the money aspect unless someone owed it to him. But now as he looked around the desolate halls of the mansion and walked its lonely corridors he wished that he could go back a change what had happened he'd have his money, his wand (oh how he missed his wand) and most of all his family though the thought of missing his father is something he'd never openly admit however he most certainly missed his mother who he hadn't seen in almost a month and would be able to visit in just a few days.

_FLASHBACK_

_Draco shuddered cold air swept mercilessly around him and gripped his lungs with icy claws, it was the day of the great trials, all the most prolifically offending Deatheaters were imprisoned in high risk temporary confinement awaiting their final judgement- as was he and he and his family. Draco almost wished to be back in his freezing cell with its dementors and iced over waste disposal pipe all of which he was slowly becoming accustomed to- the persistent glares and the biting remarks here in the prison transport were colder than anything he experienced in the cell, all things combined he just wanted to curl up and die._

_Finally the bus pulled up to a screeching halt outside the ministry and they were all ordered off, shackles grinding and clinking together in some tuneless song orchestrated by a deaf conductor. A greasy mop of white-blonde hair caught Draco's eye and he looked away quickly when the bowed head turned as if it had felt the reluctant gaze of his son fall upon him, Draco refused to have anything to do with that man and the pain he had caused._

_The procession entered through away Draco had never been, and why would he have? It was the prisoner's entrance, there was no grand marble or granite arches pillars or figures just a filthy expanse of what had once been red Victorian brick but now appeared more of dirtied grey-brown. It was magically enhanced to withstand the power of any angry witch or wizard unfortunate enough to be caught with their wands at another's throat or their fingers in another's money bag. It was damp and mildew crept along the wall nearest to the young Malfoy but there was no cruel wind so for that at least he was grateful. The prisoner entrance was unique to the rest of the building being solely used for those preparing for a trial were the outcome was already decided and definitely not swinging in their direction. Draco chose not to think about that fact._

_After what seemed like years a high pitched voice broke the silence with the screech he had been dreading "Malfoy, Draco."_

_Pushing himself out of his half crouched position he whimpered slightly drawing leering cackles from his fellow convicts which caused him to flush a horrid royal red though this could not be seen in the dim lighting. His legs shaking from fear and exhaustion he walked towards the voice, slipping slightly on the slime covered tiles beneath his feet each step hurt and the slip sent shock waves up the inside of his left leg. This was it, the time of judgement: he was to be called before what remained of the __Wizagamont_ _and put on trial for crimes though he knew not of which. After what seemed like another eternity he reached the door and stepped out into the light that temporarily blinded him and left him blinking stupidly at the surrounding guards who took the opportunity to shove their wands into his lower back painfully "move along deatheater scum" the tall brutish man to his left growled threateningly as his smaller but no less vicious friend pressed harder with his wand as if he was seeing if the blunt object really could make it out the other side of his quarries body. Draco refused to give them the pleasure of seeing his pain and followed their command._

"_You can treat this piece o' shit with its justice deserved when it gets outta court- blame it on the mob I says" the same voice that called his name minutes before sneered from the door Malfoy had just passed through, he was a small grey haired ratty looking man with prickly bristles and yellowed teeth which protruded from his mouth in a tight cluster, his appearance and mannerisms had the unfortunate but not undeserved effect of reminding Malfoy of Wormtail, both repulsed and fearful Draco Malfoy quickened his pace despite the agony it caused around his knee and ankles of his left leg. He thought longingly of a painless and solitary abyss._

_Upon entering the courtroom the heir of Malfoy could not help but gasp, from ceiling to the floor it was packed with people and the seats and walls even appeared to have been skilfully extended to fit the copious amounts of people who had squeezed in for The Great Trials, many of whom seemed to be magically live streaming it which was undoubtedly illegal though no apparent move was being made to stop it. It was now that the pocket that held his wand never felt so empty what with so many others using theirs. The low mumble of the great crowd silenced upon realising his arrival before breaking into mocking screams and angry accusations that was once more silenced but this time by the new minister of magic that had replaced __Scridgemore._ _Draco recognised him to be Kingsley Shacklebolt who though a man who was very obviously of high principles which had firmly set him against the Malfoy family he was also very fair in his judgements, the young Malfoy felt a beat of hope- maybe this time tomorrow he wouldn't be preparing for a life of rotting in Azkaban he just needed to act subservient and remorseful. wouldn't be difficult, it wasn't really acting._

_A woman with neatly coiffed brunette hair stood gracefully waiting for Minister Shacklebolt's wordless signal to continue, he gave it, "are you Mr Draco Malfoy?" it was neither a question or a statement more of a weird in-between that left him unsure of whether a response was expected, to be safe he nodded the affirmative._

"_you are required to speak Mr Malfoy this is being recorded"_

"_uh, yes ma'am I am Draco Malfoy" he flushed slightly wringing his hands together in the search for warmth._

"_Mr Malfoy you stand accused of being a deatheater, allegiances with he who shall not be named attempted murder, torture and destroying an ancient magically concealed room with in the Wizarding school of Hogwarts"_ _several low hisses emitted from the crowd causing the pretty woman to glare at the crowd but Draco had a feeling it was not for his benefit but rather because she was rather piqued at the lack of correct court procedure_ "_do you have anything to say in your defence?" _

"_I do Ma'am, all of those crimes you have listed I had no __willing_ _part in and in many cases none at all, all of which were performed while I was underage and/or under the imperius curse for extended periods of time I therefore plead reduced responsibility" a woman nearby in shocking purple robes hissed and a man with a short beard and a scar traveling the length of his face bellowed angrily what sounded a lot like "all these deatheaters are the same, everyone of them was 'cursed by another'" there was a round of cheering for this man who looked rather pleased with himself even when he had to be dragged from the courtroom screaming how it was the same as the last uprising._

_Malfoy swallowed the lump in his throat anxiously cracking his knuckles this was the only sign of his true level of fear as the conundrum died down slightly Draco managed to tear his eyes from the scuffed floor in search of a friendly face, upon seeing none his eyes dropped again._

_He refused to look at the gathered crowd again because for them his fate was already decided._

"_Mr Malfoy do you have any evidence for your claims taking into account the evidence piled against you?"_

"_No ma'am" he heard his voice tremor _

"_Do you have any witnesses willing to testify for you?"_

"_I don't even have a lawyer ma'am."_

"_Answer the question Malfoy or you will be charged of contempt of court."her annoyance made her all the more curt, she seemed a lot less pretty now her face was marred by the ugly frown._

"_No ma'am I do not" _I'm not prepared oh merlin help me, no one would take me I'm going to rot in prison oh bloody Merlin...

"_As Mr Malfoy has no further evidence or witness I will call for the Wizagamont to vote with suggestion they find him guilty…" _oh crap. _Malfoy's face crumpled in fear his waxy skin paling in the half light._

"_I WILL STAND FOR MALFOY," a loud voice shouted across the courtroom, Malfoy looked up in shock to see the familiar rumpled black hair and gangly figure of…__potter_…_? His long legs carried the seething ex-Gryffindor across the room at a surprising pace and for once Draco really was not going to argue against Potters hero complex despite his reluctance to trust his childhood arch-nemesis he really did need some help right now. "I will stand for Malfoy." Potter repeated a lot calmer the second time._

_The trial continued for hours as Potter called up tests and examinations that in his panic Malfoy had not thought to suggest, __Veritaserum_ _use of a Pensieve an examination from old Ollivander on Draco's wand and the __whole_ _trio- some more begrudgingly than others - testified._

_Now all was left was the verdict… Minister Shaklebolt rose from his seat and the muttering stopped, hundreds of eyes turned to watch him as he began to speak in deep rich tones "evidence has been given- the jury and Wizardgamont shall now retreat to the conference room, break is in session and you all will be called back when court reconvenes- wizagamont follow my adviser Madame Virtupia to the next room. Mr Potter follow me, Thank You."_

_Onlookers slowly trailed out of the cold courtroom and though Draco could only hear snippets of conversation before they merged into the background babble the general consensus seemed a lot more positive for his part, the perks of the chosen one Malfoy mentally remarked though not snidely as he had always done before. After the last dawdler had eventually drifted out passed the visitors entrance it was Malfoy's turn to leave and he was reminded of this by a sharp prod on the right side of his back between his 2__nd_ _and 3__rd_ _rib "hurry up scumbag, don' wanna miss deatheater gruel d'ya?" the leering face of a uniformed guard appeared beside him, hot stale breath assaulted his senses and Draco swore he could feel flecks of spittle hit is face. _

"_Oi! Grimpor leave him alone its end of your shift anyway."_

"_Fine. I was just tellin' it not ta'h miss it's last meal 'fore," the guard- Grimpor grinned maliciously pausing for effect, "'fore __Azkaban._" _He said Azkaban with emphasise similar to a Muggle doing an impression of a ghost in an attempt to frighten him, and though the young man was too ashamed to ever admit, he __was __afraid._

"_Out Grimpor! Fudge may have had no problem with your ways but I do and the Minister most certainly does now out! And they are people not an IT!" the young Sandy haired guard shouted his face turning a colour reminiscent of a boiled beetroot._

"_This in't tha las' of it Tomkins you'll be 'earing from me soon 'nough and you'll be sorry!" the grisly old guard with the foul breath and pallid face like uncooked bread dough backed out of the defence ring were Malfoy was sat centre stage towards the 'prisoner' entrance which Draco had entered through hours before, he turned on his heel and continued to stride angrily down the corridor followed by lower ranking Ministry of Magic wardens who had stood silently at the doorway awaiting his return._

"_Sorry about him he always was a bit of an old fashioned jerk." Tomkins said grinning abashedly still a bit pink in the face that was a fact he tried in vain to cover with his curly strawberry blonde fringe "you've had a hard enough trial without the likes of him rubbing you the wrong way but don't worry I think Harry Potters got you off this one!" he continued cheerfully, Draco was definitely beginning to like this guard, he seemed so genuine like the kind of guy who could make friends with anybody who he chose to._

"_Thank you… Tomkins…?"_

"_Ah you're welcome, though by the way my friends don't call me Tomkins, the names Alexander or Alex or for the particularly annoying person its Alexi though I suggest against that one!" the happy chattering of Draco's saviour/guard/friend(?) was at stark odds with his current mood but never was Draco more relieved to be surrounded by such a happy person. "-Oh and don't bother introducing yourself I've just been stood watchman in your trial for a good 4 hours I most likely know more about you than your own mother!" Alex grinned again at Draco Malfoys surprise… he had made a friend… Draco was never good at making friends he had always said the wrong thing or done the wrong thing; he'd never even thought it could be so easy! Part of him could not help but think he was imagining everything; Potter defending him a __Malfoy_ _in court, Alex Tomkins becoming his __friend_ _it was all so surreal Draco Malfoy almost expected to wake up in the temporary cell to be carted off to the Ministry for real. Alex continued to smile as if he could read the younger man's mind and thought he was being ridiculously funny in thinking such a thing "oh Merlin I forgot! You must be starving and you've been sat there hours what do you say to a bit of lunch?"_

_The grumble unwittingly emitted from the stomach of Malfoy at the mention of food was enough to answer the question and give the uniformed guard enough of a chuckle that the blue buttons of his practical work robes strained ever so slightly over his muscular chest, a pastel pink dusted Draco's nose, cheeks and ears in a very Weasley-ish style, the thought of which caused an even brighter flush and an even louder laugh._

"_Oh goodness that has got to be enough making fun of poor Master Malfoy for one day! Now onwards to food!"_

"Oi Malfoy!" a familiar voice called through the door of the study that adjoined the small private library that had been his fathers "what's this Jazz?" Draco sighed it had been 6 months since the trial and meeting Alex Tomkins and he had _still_ not successfully weaned his new friend off the all too regular use of the word Jazz, Alex was a good guy but that did not mean the overwhelming urge to throttle him did not appear ever so often in the back of Malfoy's mind and right now was one of the those moments but he chose to let it slide- though just this once.

"It's probably nothing- everything of any interest that I knew of has been taken"

"Nah seriously Drake this shits cool as hell!" _oh merlin not again_ whenever Alex said that it ALWAYS meant trouble he was just prone it, like a lovesick puppy misfortune followed him everywhere, only last week he tripped over an enchanted toilet roll which did not end prettily for either him or the not entirely innocent roll of bottom wiping paper and he looked set to do something rather similar again today "_Draccoooo_ stop sulking and reminiscing, check this out!"

"Fine." Draco huffed pushing himself up from one of the few chairs the Manor had left after the retributions had been paid not that Draco was complaining his mother and he were not in Azkaban though the same could not be said for his father who was too far in for Potter to help even if he'd been so inclined which it was well known he wasn't. Draco walked slowly around the desk when no one but Alex was there to see him Draco was free to walk at the pace he pleased without anyone questioning the slight limp which he forced down in public.

"What is it?" Draco leaned against the doorframe peering into the semi darkness at his friend and guard in the far corner who sat cross-legged behind a pile of the books that remained in his fathers and now his library. Curiosity got the better of him, as he knew it would and he crossed the room to perch across from the blue-eyed man who was lit up like a Christmas tree with excitement.

"Say hello-" a book was thrust into Draco's face and he huffed in frustration unable to read writing pushed _right _against his face "-to '_Wandless Magic- the way of the word and the power of the mind' _Malfoy you'll be able to do magic again with the help of this book!"

"Aren't you _supposed_ to be discouraging me from this stuff and _reporting_ it to the Ministry you know as my _HOUSE ARREST _guard and all… this _ringing _any bells?" Draco intoned with heavy sarcasm and raised eyebrows.

"Seriously those guys are so boring plus _everyone _knew you were innocent they just wanted to keep the mobs happy what they don't know won't hurt them!" there was no winning against Alex Tomkins and the only reason for this was literally the fact his arguments were _so_ stupid that the only way to counter one of them was to argue something equally imbecile-ish which was a level Malfoy never would and never could drop to, at least that's what Malfoy chose to believe.

"Fine." Draco had to admit he really did want to do magic again and with his wand being confiscated he never thought that would be possible. But now there was a chance… "I'll do it!" Draco lunged suddenly grabbing Alex into a tight embrace taking even himself by surprise having not shown so much affection for anyone since his second birthday when, much to his father's disapproval his mother bought him a dragon cuddly toy which sang Muggle nursery songs- though if his father had known it was _Muggle_ songs Draco doubted it would have lasted the full week which it did before Lucius got fed-up of the repetitive tunes and burnt it 'alive' anyway.

"Great we'll start tomorrow! Oh… look at the time it's the end of my shift… Morton will be taking over until 9am tomorrow then it will be me again until 9 pm so we'll have a good 12 hours of practice- providing your up by then!" Alex added only semi jokingly as he enjoyed frequently pointing out Malfoy's alleged laziness.

"Jerk."

"The power of your words tear a hole in my heart… I'm just so hurt I think I might die!"

"_Sure _they do…"

_POP!_

"Ah that'll be Morton, I best be off…" Alex raised his right hand in a four-fingered salute with a gap between his middle finger and the ring finger and said his trademark farewell with faux-seriousness that Malfoy repeated back to him though he wasn't entirely sure what his friend was referencing "live long and prosper."

"Live long and prosper."

Alexander gave a white-toothed smile before vanishing from existence with ballet-esque pirouette and a crack similar to the sound of a Muggle car backfiring though Malfoy had no idea what one of those were.


	2. A Rude Awakening

**Authors Notes: ok so I was away for a bit there but ****I'm back and I should be updating more regularly now (yay!) and I hope to post another chapter soon I just need to chuck out a few drafts. And I'm sorry if you want me to get to the point a bit but I'm the type of person who writes realllllyyyy long stories over time... sorry!**

**Just a quick reminder that yes there are OC's in this fic and I do not own anything but them and the computer I write on (well technically it's my mums..) I hope you enjoy the new chapter! please feel free to R+R, I need the feedback even if you don't like it! :-)**

"_Malfoy! _You are such a lazy shit…. Come _on_!" A deep voice close to his ear with warm breath whispered, he knew that voice it was a friend but Draco knew one thing for sure they would not still be friends if he kept trying to wake him up.

"MALFOY"

_Urgh it is so persistent who is this son of a bitch? If it's Goyle and Crabbe… well there will be two certain Slytherins with no dessert for a week. That's for sure._

"Draaaccoooo…."

_Ok fake sleep in… 3. 2. 1. Insert loud snore… roll over… perfect. No one will ever know especially if it's the two morons I think it is. But wait… they called me a lazy shit, first of all how dare they and second of all that means it is definitely not moron no.1 and moron no.2_

"Draco Fucking Malfoy get you lazy arse out of bed."

This is when it all came flooding back to the ex-Slytherin causing him to groan loudly and pull his blankets away from his face

_Ok not the dungeons_

"Urrhhhggg…." He rolled over again pulling the covers back over his head and sending a weak kick at the unidentified person who had attacked both his honour and sleep time… they would pay for that dearly but revenge time is later, much later, like in an hour or two… maybe three.

"Come _on_" bleary eyes slowly reopened just enough to glare at the second and more present occupant of the large bedroom but soon the pressure proved too much and they clamped shut again. However this was not before he realised the time that was displayed on the wall opposite by the constant tempus charm placed on it.

"ITS 6 O'CLOCK! WHY ARE _YOU_ HERE?"

"Couldn't sleep, I want to get started but _Morton_ is still here…. So we can't." Alex pouted playful vaulting off of the bed with an unbelievable level of morning wakefulness and ease. If Malfoy were to have his way no one would be awake before at very least 10 at best mid-day, making Alex's love of morning time illegal.

"And so he should be! You're 3 hours early haven't you heard of fashionably late? You should try it." He snapped rolling over face now gratefully buried in warm downy sheets and snuggled so- "wait a minute you're in my room! Get the hell out; I will not have you see me like this you jerk!" the exclamation quickly reverted to the spoiled brat voice of his youth. "Stop sniggering I thought this would end with my school years I hate sharing rooms and I bet you didn't even knock, I hate you so much."

"Ooooh someone rolled out of bed the wrong side…." Draco could practically _hear_ the eye roll.

"I didn't roll out of bed he wrong side in fact the whole problem here is centred around the fact I have not rolled out of bed at all and I don't wish to anytime soon!"

"Suit yourself… I'll just go talk to Morton then…" he sniffed in a faux-grumpy tone that was becoming more than just a norm in the Malfoy household, most commonly accompanied by a dramatic pout and 'teary' sniff.

"You do that." Draco snapped knowing full well that socialising with Morton was one of the last things Alex wanted to do, they HATED each other it was a good thing they worked in shifts rather than pairs otherwise the ministry would have set it up so it was _him_ keeping an eye on _them_. It was hardly like Draco liked Morton much himself but they had found grounds of mutual tolerance of the others existence and it would be a happy day for all if Alex could do the same with the night guard. Sighing he rolled over as his tall friend stormed out of the bedroom stamping his feet childishly as if to prove a point, at least Alex wasn't sharing duties with Grimpor or there would definitely be blood splatters from ceiling to floor _and I most certainly would not be the one to stop him if Grimpor was the guard to come under the wrath of Alex._

_Eventually _Draco dragged himself out of bed letting his bed sheets slip from around his shoulders and drop elegantly onto the floor in a crumpled cotton pile, he stretched his fingers and then his toes feeling the smooth sunlight warmed floorboards beneath him and sighed gustily.

"...Morning."

Oh how he hated the word, the way words were really mattered to Draco he had always supposed it was normal to find things like words important after all they were a form of expression and communication and were those not key skills? His mother had told him quite sharply at dinner when he was younger that no it was not important or normal to find so much joy in the way words were used and spoken and most interestingly to Draco how they were broken down. But how was Draco to know that? It was hardly like he made a habit of going into peoples heads and thinking like they do for a day, he even doubted that was possible in the first place, so how did his mother know? For all she knew Draco could be normal and she could be wrong, but that didn't matter much now, Draco was the only reasonably sane Malfoy left so he could cope with any difference in his thinking and that of his relatives... as much as he loved his mother he'd rather end up a crazy Malfoy than a crazy Black, at least Malfoy's lost their sanity in a dignified manner.

"Morning... _morn_ing... _morning_." At this point Draco had reached the conjoining en-suite and was staring in the mirror, his sleep hazed mind liked to do this, 'watching words' was the closest to a name as he could give. Morning was a particularly interesting word to him it was like it was contradicting itself even in the way it was said, the 'morn' part was pretty obvious up to a point because of its similarity to the word 'mourn' but what he found most interesting was the way it was said and that was part of the reason he was stood half asleep in front of the bathroom mirror. 'Morn' is a sad sound like the melancholy moan of a distant fog horn and when it is said the person pushes their lips forward slightly but the 'ning' part is a higher sound and could almost be a happy sound, when someone says the 'ning' sound they pull there lips back in a smile much like when muggles say cheese for a camera of course Draco didn't know this nugget of useless information because of his lack of muggle photo-taking experience but it demonstrates the idea quite well.

"morrrrning... moraaaaannnninggg" Draco poked at the dark raccoon-style bags that clung to his eyes but then forced himself to ignore them, nothing he could do now but sleep would rid him of them and because of _someone_ that wouldn't be happening today. After about 5 minutes he left the bathroom with combed hair and brushed teeth with his moisturiser done he was ready to face the day or at least Alex who in all probability would be the only person he would see that day besides Moran who would reappear at 9 in the evening.

_Now what to wear? _choosing today's outfit took all of 2 minutes based not only on what he would be doing: practical (and technically illegal) wandless spells but also the fact that in all honesty he didn't give a damn what he looked like and his guard wouldn't either. Draco suspected that if he really wanted to he could wander down to breakfast wearing nothing at all and get nothing more than a raised eyebrow from Alex, unless he was late. With this in mind he wandered down the wide ornate corridor to the great stone stairs that lead down into the main foyer he then turned and walked across to what a previously been the servant's eating hall his dark blue cotton trousers creating a muffled scuffing sound. Alex was waiting for him a plate of pancakes and buttered toast laid out for the both of them but from the looks of it Alex had had his share and a little of Draco's as well, the pancakes were a tiny bit lumpy and the toast overcooked, hardly Hogwarts or Malfoy standards but he felt a tiny bubble of pride.

One thing that can be said about Alex Tomkins is his cooking, he is awful. This isn't 'ewwww that rue sauce is a little over cooked' kind of bad this is 'why does the pumpkin pie taste like washing up liquid?' kind of bad, last time he made breakfast for his charge he mistook the 'lemon scented magic sparkle detergent' for salt, and unfortunately for Malfoy Alex likes to put _a lot_ of seasoning in his food. Looking back it wasn't a pretty sight. But this food looked _relatively_ edible and the cook who had obviously taken to checking his food after last time's fiasco did not look close to fainting or puking or appear to be experiencing any adverse reactions due to the food.

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"You sure you want that Malfoy?" Alex grinned glancing up over yesterday's copy of the Daily Prophet, Draco was almost there... _almost_... he would not let a _mere pancake_ defeat him, he was a _Malfoy_ for Merlin's sake but despite the fact that most of his breakfast had been eaten before he reached it he was still struggling to finish, it wasn't that the pancake was inedible like the rest of Alex's cooking its just regardless of it being his best meal to date it was pretty gross. After another few minutes of chewing on what felt off-puttingly like a rubber record dipped in maple syrup he finally gave in pushing the plate across to his breakfast companion, the pancake had defeated him.

Another thing about Alex is what he eats, by what he eats its easier to say what he doesn't eat: mushrooms, literally just mushrooms he would eat anything else (even his own cooking) this made him a very reliable dinner guest but a not very reliable food taster, Draco's theory as to why his friend couldn't taste anything is very simple: too much lemon scented magic sparkle detergent. Over time you can only poison yourself so many times before there is a detrimental effect, at least that is what Draco had figured.

Seconds later Tomkins was finished and ready to go, a few months ago Draco would have been shocked and appalled but now Alex's piggish-ness was common practice, that didn't mean he wasn't going to try to stop him, he wasn't a _Weasley_ for Merlins sake. A plan would have to be formed, passive aggressive was a new tactic and a good one at that but that was not for now, now they just needed to get training.

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Alex flicked the already sparse furniture to the sides of the hall with a casual wave of his yew wand and immediately they fell into place neatly stacked and arranged it was times like this Draco missed his own wand and his friend's easy use of his own sent a wave of anger through him, it wasn't fair.

"Draco?"

"yes?" the snappy tone caused hurt to flash over the angular features of his mentor and Draco immediately felt the guilt poking through the annoyance, to reach for a wand was a reflex for witches and wizards and Alex was no exception and if their roles had be reversed Draco Malfoy was sure he would have done the same. "Sorry."

"S'alright mate, somehow I forgot." another grin, Draco was becoming convinced that it was now a trade mark of his, he had this strange way of twisting his lips into an impish smirk and making his eyes sparkle while scowling at the same time. Alex always scowled, it was just how his face was, but he never looked angry just thoughtful and like he understood. Draco sometimes thought Alex's face was what got him the job, it wasn't because he was good looking that Draco believed that but because of what his face said to those who looked at him. A small smile could reassure even a stressed Malfoy and that was saying something, Alex had a habit of instilling confidence, and for once Draco didn't mind being indebted if it was to this man.

"prick." feigned offence at his comment made Draco roll his eyes "you'd say the same to me Tomkins"

"No I wouldn't!" he paused slightly for effect "I'd call you dick." at this point the Malfoy eye roll was becoming what a grin was to Alex- a bloody trade mark!

"whatever Tomkins teach me some magic."

"yes m'lord, now lets start with the basics, a simple levitation charm should suit so I need you to relax..."

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**OK so that was chapter 2 I hope you all liked it! Harry's POV should be coming along in the next chapter or so and then the real drama can start!**


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